There is an ancient Jewish joke that two in a conflict people came to a rabbi to settle their dispute. One person gave his perspective. The rabbi immediately said, “You are right.” The second person gave his perspective and the rabbi immediately said, “You are right.” The rabbi’s students watched how their rabbi handled this and were perplexed. They asked the rabbi, “How could they both be right? They are saying two contradictory things.” The rabbi looked at them and… Read more

Welcome to the Girardian Virtual Bible Study! Each week we explore the lectionary passage with the help of René Girard’s insights into human relationships. You can continue to join the GVBS at 10:30 am Central on the Raven Foundation Facebook page during the month of May. This episode explores Acts 11: 1-18 and John 13: 31-35. Revisiting The New Commandment “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this… Read more

Julia Ward Howe is famous for writing the Battle Hymn of the Republic, but did you know that later she wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” that called for peace? Check out Adam’s latest sermon on the radical pacifism of Mother’s Day. Read more

What does Mother’s Day have to do with Jesus the Good Shepherd? This Sunday brings the two together. Lindsey Paris-Lopez and Adam Ericksen discuss the politics of Good Shepherd Sunday in the latest episode of the Girardian Virtual Bible Study! Read more

The following is a sermon I preached at Clackamas United Church of Christ, near Portland, Oregon. The primary scripture texts was John 21:15-19 and Revelation 5: 11-14. You can read the text or watch the video below. The book of Revelation is weird. We began discussing Revelation at Bible Study recently. One person offered this thought to our group: that John, the author of the book, had taken some, let’s just say for the sake of this sermon, “medicinal” herbs, before he… Read more

Bismillah Arrahman Arraheem. In the name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, I write to you, dear Muslim sisters and brothers, in the name of the One God who holds you and me and all peoples, all worlds, all faiths, in a single, eternal embrace. As the holy month of Ramadan begins, I pray for your strength and sustenance as you begin to undertake this month-long fast from sunrise to sunset. I pray not only for your physical endurance though… Read more

Welcome to the Girardian Virtual Bible Study! Each week we explore the lectionary passage with the help of René Girard’s insights into human relationships. The Raven Foundation will be taking a break this month from posting on the website, but you can continue to join the GVBS at 10:30 am Central on the Raven Foundation Facebook page during the month of May. This episode explores John 21:1-19 and Acts 9:1-20. Show Notes At 1:00 – Lindsey says these passages have a message that our… Read more

Welcome to the Girardian Virtual Bible Study! Each week we explore the lectionary passage with the help of René Girard’s insights into human relationships. We hope you enjoy this installment of the GVBS. Join us next week at 10:30 am Central on the Raven Foundation Facebook page for the live show. The show notes and video recording are below. This week’s episode explores Easter 2, Year C, John 20:19-31. A Well-Disguised Blessing Doubt doesn’t always feel like a blessing. Questioning faith, questioning tradition,… Read more